Alternatives
by Rose Stetson
Summary: Grace comes through the Quantum Mirror...Season 7 before Grace...FINALLY COMPLETE! SQUEE!
1. Grace

**Alternatives**

_Season 7- Before "Grace"

* * *

_

_Dad!_ The voice in his head screamed.

_Come on, Grace!_ He commanded. _Don't stop!_

They heard Sam lay down cover fire. They'd already lost Daniel to Apophis's serpent guards.

_Do you still have the note?_ He asked, telepathically.

_Of course, Dad. How old do you think I am?_ She responded.

_We don't have time for sarcasm!_ He replied. _I'm going back to help your mom. Whatever happens, keep running until you are able to touch that mirror._

_Yes, sir._

He turned and began firing his P-90 upon the serpent guards. "Thanks, Jack." Sam acknowledged briefly.

"Thought you could use some help." He yelled over the sound of the weapons.

She looked behind her for a moment. "Grace, all you have to do is touch the surface of the mirror."

"I know, Mom!"

Jack saw the Jaffa's target too late. The staff weapon fired at Sam, catching her squarely in the chest. "Jack!" She screamed as she hit the ground.

"I love you," she managed to whisper, painfully before she closed her eyes for the last time.

Jack swallowed, trying to eliminate the lump in his throat that arose. Those damn Jaffa had killed his wife! He returned fire with more enthusiasm than before.

_Is Mom…_

_Don't think about it._ He replied. _Just keep…_

A staff blast cut his thought short.

The seven-year-old looked behind her into the face of Teal'c, Apophis's First Prime. She had just reached the Quantum Mirror, and as she placed her hand on the clear surface of the mirror, she felt a slight shock of energy reverberate through her body.

When she looked around, she found herself locked inside a supply closet at the SGC.


	2. SG1

Major Samantha Carter unlocked the supply closet holding the Quantum Mirror in search of some flashlights. Colonel O'Neill had insisted that it was time for the routine swap, and had delegated the task to her…very hesitantly- or not…

She laughed. At least this time she had come alone. Last time, Jack had come with her to "show her the ropes." He had very nearly "accidentally" locked them in, and she had nearly "accidentally" not realized what he was doing.

But in a moment of sheer panic, she put her foot in the way of the door, holding it open.

She laughed nervously at the memory. That had been without alien interference. Memories of the Virus of the Touched from the Land of Light, Amnesiac drugs enforced by Slave Holders, and other occurrences had definitely played with the black line held in force by the Pentagon.

As she reached for the flashlights, she heard a small whimper. She looked over at the Quantum Mirror and found a seven-year-old girl seated on the floor next to it, crying. Her long, brown hair was draped over her face as she hugged her knees, sobbing quietly.

"Hello." Sam greeted.

The girl's head snapped up in surprise. She looked bewildered as she studied Sam.

"I'm Sam. How'd you get in here?"

The bewildered look in her clear, blue eyes was replaced by sadness. She shook her head and pointed to the Mirror.

Sam extended her hand. "Will you come with me, please?"

The little girl accepted the outstretched hand and stood up.

"Do you feel like telling me your name?"

Grace just shook her head.

"That's okay. But I have to take you to meet my boss."

She nodded and clutched Sam's hand.

"Just remember…you're a very brave girl."


	3. Dad

Jack walked into the briefing room. He was greeted by General Hammond, Major Carter, Dr. Jackson, Teal'c, and a little girl. "General?"

"Colonel, have a seat. We have some things to discuss."

_Dad?_

Jack was surprised by the voice in his head. It sounded like a little girl…somehow he knew that it was the girl sitting next to Sam.

_What the hell?_

_Watch your language! This mind is supposed to be G-rated._

"Colonel, are you paying any attention?" Sam asked.

_Mom only called you that when she was mad at you._

He continued to stare at the little girl.

"Colonel O'Neill, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." He said, turning to the General.

_What's wrong is that there's another person talking to me in my head, and she's calling me 'dad.'_

_There's nothing wrong with you! It's the Ancient…gene- I think htat's what Aunt Janet called it._

_Ancient gene?_

_From when you got all the Ancient stuff downloaded into your brain._

_You're awfully precocious for a…how old are you?_

_Seven._

_You're seven years old!_

_Yep…my birthday was last Tuesday!_

_Wow, you obviously didn't get that from …me._

_Nope, I take after my mom._

_And that would be?_

_Duh…she's sitting right next to me._

_SAMANTHA CARTER?_

_Yeah._

Feelings of sadness and depression washed over him.

_Why are you sad?_

_My parents are dead._

"O'Neill, are you not well?"

"Oh, yeah, T. Just peachy."

Fear flooded over him.

_What is it this time?_

_He killed my mom and then, he killed my dad, and then he tried to kill me._

"What's her name?" Jack asked.

"We don't know," Sam confessed. "She hasn't said a word to anyone that I know of."

_My name's Grace._

"Her name's Grace." He repeated.

Sam's eyes widened. "How do you know that?"

"Because she's been talking to me."

"Sir?"

_You and Mom aren't married here, are you?_

_Kids…they always come up with the hard questions, don't they?_

_No, we don't…Grown-ups just make them hard._

_Okay, no…we're not married._

"What did she say?" Sam asked, having watched the Colonel and Grace, who had been looking at each other, concentrating on their conversation.

"Uh…her parents died. And Teal'c killed them."

"How's that possible?" The General asked.

"If she is from an alternate reality, like we suspect that she is," Sam began explaining. "Teal'c may still be the First Prime of Apophis."

She turned to the little girl. "Was Apophis attacking Earth?"

Images started flooding Jack's mind. They were images transferred from the other Jack to Grace before he died. Horrible images that nobody should have had to carry around…let alone a seven-year-old girl.

"He came to get her." Jack reported.


	4. Accomodations

Jack opened the door for Sam and Grace a few hours later, Sam carrying a suitcase, and Grace carrying a few plastic bags full of new clothing and necessities that the SGC had provided, and that Sam, Grace, Janet, and Cassie had gotten. "Welcome to my humble abode."

Grace walked in, taking in everything about the house. "It's just like home!"

"I'm glad you approve." Jack said, with a smile.

She bounded into the living room and found pictures of Charlie and Sara. "Who're they?"

Sam looked nervously toward Jack. The expression on his face was unreadable. "That's my ex-wife, Sara, and our son, Charlie."

"When do I get to meet him?" She asked, excitedly.

"Grace!" Sam scolded.

"No, Carter. She deserves to know." He knelt down and returned his attention to the little girl. Before he continued, he took a deep breath to prepare him. "He died a few years ago."

Tears fell unchecked down her cheeks as she threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. I'm sorry I made you sad. She thought as she cried.

He closed his eyes in pain as he let his arms encircle this little girl. "It's okay." He whispered, grateful that fate had sent Grace his way.

Sam watched the two with an added measure of interest as tears moistened her own eyes. It should have been their daughter- one that they, not their alternates, had raised from infancy. But she had miscarried after their first encounter with Osiris, the blast from the hand device causing irreparable damage to the fetus.

She had never mentioned the "incident" to Jack since the baby had been conceived during by their alter-egos, Jonah and Thera. By the time she might have told him that she was pregnant, she had miscarried, and she couldn't bear the thought of telling him that he had lost yet another child.

"Carter?"

She turned, startled. "Sorry."

"You ready to see your room?"

"Sure."

They walked down a hallway and into a darkened room. She set her overnight bag down next to the door as Jack reached for the light. There was a queen-sized bed in the corner, a chest of drawers, a television, and a desk set neatly in the fairly small room. "Thank you, sir."

He nodded and began to walk out of the room. Suddenly, he stopped. "Carter, you got something on your mind?"

"Huh?" She asked, turning her attention back to him.

"You seem a little preoccupied."

"I do?"

"Hey, Carter, it's not really any of my business." He said quickly, to ease the discomfort of the situation.

Unfortunately, Sam's conscience screamed at her that it was most definitely his business.

"Uh, I was thinking of ordering some take-out. Do you have a preference of Chinese or pizza?"

"Whichever."

"Chinese, it is. The usual beef and broccoli, sweet and sour chicken, egg rolls, wontons, and fried rice?"

She placed her hands in the pockets of her jeans and shrugged. "Sounds good to me."

He turned to leave, deducing that she wasn't going to tell him anything. "Sir?"

"Yeah?"

She looked back up at him. Unfortunately, she was unable to tell him what she had tried to gather up her courage to tell him. "Where's Grace staying?"

"Down the hall. To the left."

"Oh."

He studied her for a few moments. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah. Everything's just…a little…disconcerting."

"The fact that you and I have a kid together in another reality?"

She took a deep breath in, allowing her shoulders to raise, showing her tension. "Yeah."

"Something else is bothering you."

She was silent.

"Carter, if you don't want to stay, you don't have to. Grace just mentioned that she wanted both of us, so I thought I'd do my best to accommodate."

"That's not it."

"Throw me a bone, Carter! PLEASE!"

She sat down on the bed. "Do you really want to know?"

He gave her his signature look of confusion. "Carter, I wouldn't have asked if I didn't. You know that."

"What if I told you there could have been a Grace?"

He froze. "What?"

She looked up at him, her eyes hooded with sorrow. "Thera had a miscarriage. The encounter with Osiris caused some internal injuries to herself and the fetus."

"Baby."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Baby."

"Whoa." He said softly. "You've been carrying that around for this long?"

"What else was I supposed to do?" She asked. "Go to meetings? My name is Samantha Carter and I miscarried my commanding officer's baby?"

Her words stung, but he remained silent, albeit still processing the information she had just given him. "You could have told me." he whispered.

"Admit it, Jack, this whole situation sucks! You're my commanding officer for cryin' out loud!"

Jack looked up, and she covered her mouth, somewhat embarrassed.

"Good for you." He said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Stop."

"Stop what?"

"That. Making me feel better. Can't I just feel lousy for once? Do I really have to pretend that this whole fiasco was simply exhaustion and that a few days of extra rest and easy work days are going to fix it?" The tears of anger, bitterness and resentment streamed down her cheeks. "And why the hell aren't you pissed off at me? I withheld your child from you! You should be throwing me out of your house right now!"

"Do you want me to?" He asked softly as he sat on the bed next to her.

"No." She sobbed, allowing herself to be pulled into his embrace.

"I can't see how you've been able to deal with this all these years."

She looked up at him. "You think this is dealing? Hell no! I've been living with it. I haven't even really acknowledged that IT happened until now."

"Sam, say 'the miscarriage.'"

"Don't."

"Sam, we can't make any progress until you say that."

Tears flowed freely down her cheeks as she looked into his eyes. "I…can't."

"Yes, Sam, you can."

"No!"

"Sam…"

"It hurts! Everywhere." She turned and threw her arms around his neck. "Make it stop, Jack! Make it go away!"

Tears threatened to escape his carefully guarded tear-ducts as he held her, remembering a time many years before, when he had held Sara, much like this. "I wish I could. I really with I could."

Meanwhile, Grace trembled in the corner of her room. This was how her parents had felt before they had rushed her to the SGC and the Quantum Mirror. Imprints of her parents' deaths flashed past her. The fear that engulfed her actually paralyzed her for the better part of thirty minutes. She couldn't lose another set of parents just hours after the first.

When her frozen limbs finally released, Grace crumpled to the ground, her body unable to sustain her distress.


	5. Getting Treated

_For those of my reviewers and readers who have not read this yet (or are trying to reread it...) I wanted to add a little author's note to explain what happened. For some reason, on my computer, I didn't have the last little bit that I had on the internet. I remembered writing it, but thought that my computer had lost it before I could post it. I rewrote it, and this is what came out. What was previously the Chapter called "Confessions" is now both "Confessions" and "Getting Treated." The end is the new ending. So, I'm sorry for the confusion...I'll remember to put an author note up firstnext time!

* * *

"Grace!" Jack said, standing up in the middle of his embrace. He urgently stepped out of the room and into the bedroom where the seven-year-old lay unconscious on the ground._

"Jack!"

Jack was instantly on the ground. "Call the Doc. Tell her we're bringing Grace in."

Sam's heart stopped beating at the sight of the little girl on the ground. No! Her heart breathed.

"GO! That's an order!" He barked.

Instantly, she was on the phone. "Janet, we have a problem."

Ten minutes later, Jack and Sam arrived at the infirmary, carrying the now-shivering Grace in a large blanket. "Sam, what happened?"

"I don't know." She said in a panicked voice. "The Colonel and I were talking and all of a sudden, he said her name, and we found her like this."

"Colonel, I'll take it from here." She said, as Jack laid her on the bed. He nodded, numbly. Charlie, Grace…

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Sam standing in shock. "Carter."

She turned, only half-looking at him.

"C'mere."

She obliged and he put his arm around her. "It's going to be okay. Everything's going to be fine."

She nodded as a shiver ran down her spine. She started shaking, unable to stop. One of the nurses came by. "Major Carter's in shock." He said, indicating that she, too, needed attention.

They tried to lead her away from Jack, and she shook her head. "No."

"Carter, they need to treat you. You're in shock."

She swallowed. "You come with me."

He looked over to where Janet and her crew were working to save Grace and then at Sam. He nodded. "Okay."

She tuned back to the nurse and nodded.

--

Janet approached the area of the infirmary where Sam was being treated for shock. "Colonel." She greeted.

"Doc."

"How is she?" Sam asked, wrapped in warm blankets, and no-longer shivering.

"We've stabilized her for now."

"What happened?" Jack asked.

"Honestly, Colonel, I don't know. As far as I can tell she was in perfect health when this came on."

"But she was convulsing!" He said, as if no one else realized it.

"I know." Janet said, soothingly.

"Jack, was there anything that might have sent her into this distress? I mean, emotionally?" Sam asked, remembering the rather unique bond that he seemed to have with the little girl.

"Like?"

"You and Grace have some kind of empathic bond."

"Which means?"

"Jack, you could sense that Grace was in trouble without her uttering a single word. She talks to you in your mind, and you have no idea what happened?"

He concentrated, thinking about the feeling of fear and danger that had come over him when he had run into her room to find her on the floor. "I got nothin'."

Suddenly, one of the nurses who had been attending Grace alongside Dr. Frasier walked into the room. "Doctor Frasier, she's awake."

She turned. "Thank you." She returned to Sam and Jack. "If you will excuse me."

"We're coming with you." Sam said, rising to her feet. She faltered and Jack caught her.

"Sam, you're being treated for shock. You need to rest."

"I need to make sure that Grace is okay." Sam said, all the determination of a mother shining in her eyes.

Janet studied Sam, who was still leaning on Jack, and nodded. "All right. But you return when I tell you to. Understood?"

She nodded. Janet turned and walked away as Sam and Jack looked at one another. Hesitantly, Jack moved his arm from underneath her arm to her waist, providing her with a sense of support, while not being a awkward crutch. She looked at him, and gave him a grim smile, silently signaling her approval and at the same time, thanking him for taking the initiative.

Sam and Jack walked into the isolation room where Grace was being kept, more than a few steps behind Janet.

The little girl stared at Sam and Jack, her expression full of confusion. "Mommy? Daddy?"

Sam looked at Jack and quickly, she stepped out of his embrace. "No, Grace, it's…it's not your mommy and daddy. It's Sam and Jack. Remember? We were at Jack's house when you got sick."

Sadness returned to her eyes as she nodded.

"Grace, what happened?"

"I felt sad. Really sad."

Sam and Jack exchanged looks before returning their attention to Grace. "Were you sad that you parents died?"

She shook her head. "I felt your sadness. And I was scared."

"Whose sadness?" Janet asked, gently.

"Theirs." She said, pointing at Sam and Jack. "It was just like when my parents died."

"Your parents were sad when they died?" Sam asked, recovering from the shock that Grace had physically felt the emotional burden that she and Jack had shared.

"No. They were sad before they told me that we were leaving. But after that, I didn't know what they were feeling."

"How did that happen?" Janet asked, stroking her long brown hair.

"They were thinking just one thing. Save Grace. I didn't know whether they were scared or sad or anything besides that."

"You know what we're thinking?" Janet asked, surprised.

She shook her head. "Just my mom and dad…or Sam and Jack, I guess. They called it selective SPE."

"ESP?" Sam corrected.

She nodded. "They said I was really special."

"You are." Jack reiterated.

"Thank you."

"Well, if you're able to read both of our thoughts and feelings, how come I can't read yours while Colonel O'Neill can?"

Jack tried not to let it bother him that after an afternoon of her calling him Jack, she had returned to her old habit of calling him Colonel O'Neill or sir.

_You love her._

Jack looked up, surprised. "Huh?"

"What, sir?" Sam asked, looking up at him.

"Nothing."

She returned to Grace. "Because of the gene."

"I see." Sam said, still confused.

_She loves you too._

"I can sense Mom's…Sam's thoughts because of the naquadah and the gene combination. That's why I can sense her feelings, but she can't sense mine."

"Oh." Sam said, the explanation making a little bit of sense.

_That's not possible. _He thought when he realized that Grace was talking to him through their shared internal connection.

_Yes, it is. She's just afraid about what she thinks you really think about what she told you._

_How do you know about that?_

_I don't know what it is that she told you, but I know that it was very important to both of you, and that she's scared you don't really like her after you found out about her secret._

_Well, you're right. It's very important to both of us. But that doesn't mean that I don't like her._

_Tell her._

_I tried!_

_Well, she's scared about the rules. Whatever those are._

Jack took a deep breath, in frustration.

"Sir?" Janet asked. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just…Carter, a word?"

She froze. "Yes, sir." She complied, submissively.

"We'll be right back." He said, mostly for Janet's benefit.

They walked out to the hallway where Jack turned to her. "Sam…I'm not happy about how things turned out with Jonah and Thera."

She gasped, trying not to burst into tears again.

"But…" He continued.

"But?" She asked, surprised.

"That's not your fault. I…we should have given it more of a chance. Then, maybe we wouldn't be so afraid to deal with this."

"I'm not afraid." She said, defensively.

"Yes, Sam, you are. You and I have both been afraid for too long. I'm going to do what I should have done four years ago. I'm going to resign."

"What? You can't do that?"

"Sam…please. I can't keep living like this, and…if Grace is going to be a permanent resident in our reality, we can't risk having another moment like we had at my house. We need to be completely honest with ourselves and with each other."

She nodded, tears falling despite her ironclad defenses.

"C'mere." He said, pulling her into an embrace. "Do you want to try to work this…thing out?" he asked. "If you don't want to…"

"I do." She whispered.

"Then, that's it…I'm talking to General Hammond first thing tomorrow morning."

She nodded, though she was still in the protection of his embrace.

He put his hand under her chin and forced her to look up at him. "I…I love you, Samantha. Don't you ever forget that."

She swallowed, trying to blink back tears as she nodded. "I love you too."

"Good. Now, let's go and be there for Grace. She needs us…you AND me right now."

She nodded, wiping the tears from her face. Then, he took his hand from around her waist, something that they both knew needed to be done, but that made them both ache inside. The thought of tomorrow hung in the air, and they were desperately clinging to that hope. Only another twenty-four hours…


	6. Plan A

Jack walked up to the General's office, his heart somewhat heavy. He loved his work with SG1, and was more than reluctant to have that end. But he also realized the importance of his future with Grace...and with Sam.

He smiled briefly as he thought about her. She'd tried to convince him that she wasn't tired, and that she could sit with Grace as he went up to speak to General Hammond. Of course, he knew better. So, he convinced her to let Daniel babysit while she took a brief nap.

He walked down the corridor leading to the General's office, and knocked on the door.

"Come in." The General invited.

Jack took a deep breath before walking inside.

"Jack!" Hammond greeted with a small smile. "Nice to see you. How's our guest?"

"Grace is fine, sir." He said, quickly. "Thank you for asking."

"Have a seat." The older man invited.

"No, thank you, sir."

"Getting down to business again, are you, Jack?" George asked with a twinkle in his eye.

Jack smiled appreciatively. "Life's so short, I don't see much point in beating around the bush."

"What's on your mind, son?"

Jack had long since gotten over the condescension that the endearment could imply. He was only five years George Hammond's junior, after all. But he had quickly realized that the term was a way for the general to show an appropriate sliver of paternal affection for the officers under his command. So, instead of reacting, he inhaled deeply and began. "General Hammond, I want you to know that I've learned much under your command, and appreciated everything you've done for me and my team over the years."

"But," the General prompted.

Jack gave a wry smile. He was so transparent, wasn't he? "I believe it's time for me to tender my resignation."

"You're not even sixty, Jack. Why do you think it's time to retire?"

Jack's eyes grew solemn. "Because there's a little girl in the infirmary who's already lost one set of parents, and if at all possible, I want to keep that from happening again."

"You want custody of Grace?"

"I'm not sure how it will all play out, but I think it would be best if either Carter or I took custody of her." He said, nodding.

"Because you were her parents in an alternate reality."

Jack sighed. "I don't pretend to know how it all works, but I do know that Grace has been through a lot, and deserves to grow up in a stable home. And I'd like the freedom to do everything I can possibly think of to make that happen."

"A stable home, Jack?" George asked, raising an eyebrow.

He shrugged. "If there's one thing I've learned here at the SGC, it's that you never know what the future holds, General. If you'd asked me ten years ago if I'd be traveling through the galaxy and interacting with scientists and aliens on a regular basis, I would have thought you were crazy. But here I am, having done it for the better part of seven years."

"Well, I wish you the best, Jack." The General said, honestly. "Even if I am certain that the SGC won't be the same without you."

"Thank you, sir."

"You're welcome, Jack."

Jack walked toward the door before he heard the general once again. "Jack?"

"Yes, sir?" He asked, turning back to the man behind the desk.

"Take care of her."

"I don't know if I'm going to get custody of Grace, sir."

"I wasn't talking about her." The general said with a twinkle in his eye.

Jack smiled bashfully. "I don't know what you're talking about, sir." He said, trying to keep a straight face.

"I'm sure you don't." George chuckled. "I'll get the necessary paperwork through to Washington anyway."

Leaving the General's office, Jack couldn't help but wonder what the General meant.

--

Sam walked into the infirmary, feeling a great deal better rested.

"How are you feeling?" Jack asked, approaching the infirmary at the same time as she was.

"Better, thank you." She said, trying to look professional. She didn't want to appear too eager in case some rumors had been circulated about them. She was also hoping that by keeping her reaction from being over the top, she'd protect herself from a broken heart if it didn't work.

"By the way, Plan A seems to be working." He said, cryptically.

Her heart pounded in excitement.

"But first priority is getting Grace home and into a permanent living arrangement." He looked at her softly. "With you or me."

She nodded.

"Anyway, I think we've got Hammond's support. For all aspects of our plan."

"All of them?" She asked, looking at him in surprise.

He shrugged. "He's the base commander. There's very little that gets past him when it comes to his front line team."

She chuckled. "You've got a point there."

"Anyway, things are going smoothly, and I would be very surprised if they didn't continue that way."

"That's good." She said, relaxing a little.

"No kidding." He agreed. They walked in silence for a little bit before Jack looked at her. "Shall we find our little girl?"

"Our little girl." She said with a soft smile. "I like the sound of that."

"Me too." He admitted.

"Jack. Sam." Daniel said, walking over. "I'm glad I found you guys."

"What's wrong?" Sam asked, her heart lurching as she wondered if Grace was okay.

"Grace went to sleep while you were gone. A few minutes ago, she started crying out for you two."

Jack and Sam hurried as fast as they could to Grace's room.

"Mommy!" She cried, holding her arms out to Sam.

Sam gathered the little girl up into her arms as naturally as if she'd given birth to the young girl, and received that reaction from her for years. "Sh." She whispered as she rocked her. "You're going to be fine." She whispered softly. "We're here. You'll be just fine."

Jack was only more convinced that Grace needed him and Sam equally. And he was determined to give her that much at least.


	7. Epilogue

Epilogue:

Sam and the rest of her team exited the wormhole, and walked onto the ramp. When Jack had retired a few months ago, she'd been given command of the legendary team, and she had to admit that she was more than a little proud of that fact. Especially since she'd been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel at the same time.

"Welcome back, SG-1." General Hammond said with a smile on his face.

"Thank you, sir." She said with a grin.

"We'll debrief after you get yourselves cleaned up."

"Thank you, sir." Daniel said, obviously grateful for the chance to hit the showers.

"Go on, guys. Hit the showers first. I have a phone call to make." Sam said with a chuckle.

"Are you certain, Colonel Carter?" Teal'c asked, looking at her.

"I'm sure." She laughed. "Like I said, I have a phone call to make."

"Well, we just want to make sure we give the lady a chance to go first." Lieutenant Mark Kingman said, looking at his new commanding officer. "Uh...ma'am."

She laughed. "Get lost, you guys. That's an order."

"Yes, ma'am." Daniel and Mark both announced before running to the showers.

"Indeed." Teal'c said, following after them.

She chuckled as she unloaded her gear in her lab and reached for the phone. She dialed Jack's number, and it rang once before there was an answer. "O'Neill residence." A young girl's voice answered.

"Hello, Grace." Sam said with a small smile.

"Mom!" She cried, happily. "Dad!" She cried, turning from the phone. "It's Mom!"

Sam grinned at the sound of the household she'd left for her mission. The phone quickly changed hands, and a deep baritone took over the conversation. "Well, Colonel, you're a little overdue on your check-in. Everything went well, I assume."

She chuckled. "Yes, sir. It went just fine. Daniel lost track of the time, and Kingman got lost."

"Kingman got lost!" Jack cried, as if this explained everything. "Of course. I'll have to have a word with that young man."

She chuckled. "So, how was your day, Jack?"

"Not any less exciting than yours." He chuckled. "I picked Grace up from school and took her to the grocery store and stocked up on nuts and beer and all the essentials of life."

"I hope you got vegetables." She teased.

"Vegetables? Those are for sissies!" He cried.

"YEAH!" Came Grace's response from the background.

Sam laughed. "Maybe, but sissies still have their health."

"Fine." He grumbled. "We got vegetables too."

"Good."

"So, when's the team coming over?" He asked after a pause. "I'm getting lonely for them."

"I'll find out after I hit the showers. I told them to go first so that I could "make my scheduled check-in"."

"Good woman."

She smiled as she played with the ring on her left hand. "By the way, Jack, I found a great place for a wedding."

"Nice."

"Yeah. Just wait until I tell you about P3X 787."

"I can hardly wait." The man said with a chuckle.

"All right. I'll be home in a couple of hours. I'm going to get cleaned up and get started on my report."

"Sam..." Jack whined.

"And while I'm trying to do that, I'll ask the guys if they can come over for dinner."

"Excellent."

"Goodbye, Jack." Sam laughed.

"Love you, Sam."

"Love you too." She said with a chuckle as she hung up the phone. She had a feeling her life was pretty much perfect.


End file.
